Yes I'm Changing
by miss alehra
Summary: Several years ago, Paris's heroes defeated Hawkmoth. Much has happened since then, but a hero's work is never done! Life hasn't exactly gone according to plan, but Adrien and Marinette try their best. Adrien went AWOL for a bit after Hawkmoth's reveal/defeat. They're aged up and there still hasn't been a reveal.


Notes:

This idea came to me while being put on hold during a 2-hour technical support call with Dell. I was doodling Marinette in an apron and then it all just came to me. This is a bit more mature than the actual series, which is why I aged them up. If enough people are interested, I'll keep writing! This is my first time writing fanfiction in like... 6 years!

* * *

 _It's nearing the three-year anniversary of Hawkmoths' defeat,_ Marinette thought to herself. She noted how windy it was as she got ready. Marinette buttoned up her shirt and tied her apron around her waist before putting her coat on. Walking down the stairs, she waved goodbye to her parents before heading off to her second job- bartending at a nearby restaurant. During the day, she helped her parents at the bakery, and at night, she was either at the restaurant or patrolling with Chat Noir. Working two jobs plus being a superhero was not exactly what Marinette had planned for herself at this point in life. Sometimes it was a bit overwhelming, but she liked keeping busy. It kept her from thinking too much. Like right now. If fourteen-year-old her were to see her now, she'd probably be a little disappointed.

She remembered it clearly- she was nearing the end of her last year of high school when Hawkmoth was defeated. Afterwards, Marinette had tried going to university to study fashion and design, but between the drama that came with Hawkmoth's reveal and her other Ladybug duties, it became too much. Her grades just kept on dropping, and she had to leave only after a few months. It was humiliating, and what made it worse was that she couldn't really explain why to anyone in her life. But that felt like forever ago. That was over, and this was her life now. Unless something were to change...

"Hey Tikki, are you cold?" Marinette asked. Almost like it heard her, the wind began to blow harder.

"Yeah, but you'll be inside soon so it's fine!"

"I guess that's true. We'll be there soon!"

* * *

After finishing up his last shoot of the day, Adrien decided to take a different route home. He'd finished later than usual, and it was already dark out. Also, since remembering it was nearing the third anniversary of his father's, or rather, Hawkmoth's defeat, he had been in a weird mood.

"What should I eat for dinner tonight Plagg?" he asked.

"I don't know why you ask me that when you know the answer is gonna be camembert," Plagg retorted.

"Then you also know that I'm gonna say no to that," Adrien chuckled. "Maybe I'll try something new. I'm just feeling... a little strange. I don't know if it's good or bad but I'm thinking about everything that's happened the past three years... It's around the time of the year that-"

"You're thinking about Hawkmoth."

"Well yeah..."

Adrien's thoughts went back to that time. After finding out that Hawkmoth was his father, his life began to fall apart. Knowing that he lived in the same house as his supposed enemy and only family haunted him. He tried his best to be brave and pretend it didn't affect him in front of Ladybug and the others, but he came close to breaking down several times. Everyone noticed, but he'd just brush it off. It was hard for him to plan with Ladybug and it was hard for him to present their plan to Rena Rouge, Carapace, and Queen Bee. The final battle was tough, but they all survived and got Nooroo back. They also discovered his father's plans to bring his mother back. At first, Adrien didn't know how to feel about it. He would have loved to get his mother back, but not at the cost of putting multiple lives in danger for several years. He was conflicted, both angry and sympathetic. In the end, Gabriel went to prison and Adrien was completely alone.

He stopped going to school. He stopped talking to everyone from Françoise Dupont. He even neglected his duties as Chat Noir. Adrien completely isolated himself. A few months later, he returned to the public eye, modeling for brands other than _Gabriel_. Around that time, Adrien kept himself feeling numb by adapting a party lifestyle. He might've been way too young, but he already had a reputation in the industry, and getting what he wanted was easy. If he were being honest, Adrien would admit that he doesn't remember a good chunk of that whole year, having not spent it sober. It didn't bother him that the tabloids were constantly talking about him, spreading things that were both false and true, but when a video of him getting into a fight became viral, he realized that he wasn't being himself. He had to stop.

And now, here he was. Alive and relatively sober besides the shitty smoking habit he was trying to get rid of. The emotional pain was still there, but he was getting better every day. Adrien still modeled, but only enough to pay the bills. He distanced himself from Gabriel's reputation and the whole mess he had made. He felt guilty about ghosting everyone who ever cared about him, and when he finally appeared as Chat Noir for the first time in months, Ladybug had many questions. She seemed more worried than angry. Without revealing too many details, he explained that he lost someone important in his life and that it was a huge dramatic mess. Understandably, Ladybug was still upset, but she empathized with him as much as she could for not knowing the whole situation. At the end of that long conversation, she gave him a big hug that he didn't know he needed. After that night, they settled on a schedule to patrol the city.

From then on, he looked forward to patrols. Ladybug still had no intention of finding out who he was or letting him find out who she was, but she was a comforting presence he wanted in his life, and he was content with just that. He still loved her, but he knew he had to be realistic. Plagg disrupted his reminiscing by lightly headbutting Adrien in the chest.

"Hey, what are you thinking about? Are you okay?" Plagg almost shouted. "You've been quiet since you mentioned the anniversary..."

"I know Plagg. Like I said, I just feel really weird today..." Adrien sighed. "I was thinking about everything that's happened since then. I still feel guilty about disappearing, and... I wanna say thank you. Thank you for putting up with me Plagg. I know I haven't been the best miraculous holder. Sometimes I wonder. Why me? I've been nothing but a disastrous Chat Noir."

"You don't need to thank me. I won't sugarcoat it for you though, Adrien. You've messed up. But we all make mistakes, even kwamis like me! Everything that happened is in the past, and you can't change that, but you're here now, trying to get better and fixing your mistakes. I think that's what matters. Plus, you're not just replaceable. You're my friend. Now hurry up and choose a place to eat! They better have camembert!" he teased.

"Thank you Plagg." Adrien smiled. Lighting a cigarette, he strolled down the sidewalk, until reaching what appeared to be a restaurant with a red neon sign at the end of the block. "It looks like this is the only place open nearby. La Petite Cannelle..." He took a drag of his cigarette. "I'm too lazy and hungry to look for anything else right now. Let's give this place a try!" After putting his cigarette out and throwing it away, he opened the entrance door.

* * *

"Hello! Good Evening! I'll be right with you. I just gotta grab something from down here!"

The voice that greeted him was familiar and coming from the bar area. He couldn't see who it was, and it bothered him that he knew the voice but couldn't remember who it belonged to. He looked around. The restaurant looked very cute and cozy. There was no one else there. Suddenly, a familiar blue-haired head popped up and he froze.

"M...Marinette?"

"A-Adrien? Is that you?" They stared at each other, completely silent for several seconds before Adrien stepped closer to the bar counter.

"Marinette! I-It's nice to see you!" Adrien tried to ignore the guilt he was starting to feel, but he could tell he was turning red. How could he face the girl who was such a compassionate friend to him after ghosting her completely?!

"It's great to see you too!" She exclaimed, waving her arms excitedly. "Come sit here at the bar! It's been way too long!" Marinette gestured for him to come over. She felt like this was a dream. There was no way she thought she'd ever see Adrien again. Quickly walking to the other side of the counter to grab a glass for him, she asked, "How have you be- WOAH"

Adrien heard glass shatter. Peering over the counter, he saw that Marinette had caught herself after tripping, but the glass was obviously not okay "Are you alright..?"

"Yeah I just- ugh I'm so clumsy." Marinette began to pick up the larger pieces with her hand. She still couldn't believe this was happening. Not that she had completely forgotten about him, but after he dropped off the face of the Earth for a while, she knew she couldn't keep thinking about him.

"I guess some things never change," Adrien teased. Marinette's head immediately shot up and she gaped at him. "I didn't mean that in a bad way, sorry." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"No, that's not what I was thinking. I'm just surprised you remember that..." She was sweeping up the last few pieces of glass on the ground. "It's been a long time." Her memories were coming back. She had such a huge crush on him back in the day. She thought it had gone away after he was gone for so long, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't feel anything when she saw him enter.

"It has," was all he could say. Thinking about his disappearance made him uncomfortable. How was he supposed to explain that to someone he hadn't talked to in years? They both stood in silence until Marinette got another glass and filled it with water, this time, being careful not to trip.

"Here's some water. I'll grab you a menu in a second, but is there anything you want to drink?" Marinette gestured towards the bottles of wine and liquor lined up behind her. He could tell she felt a little uncomfortable, like she didn't know what else to say. She was totally using her customer service voice.

"Thanks for the offer, but I don't really drink anymore. I'll just have a lemonade."

"Oh! Okay! Here's that menu! I'll be right back with that lemonade." Heading to the kitchen in the back, Marinette felt a little awful for suggesting alcohol. Should she had acted like she knew? She had seen the tabloids and suspected that maybe he was trying to stay away from that type of stuff. But would that be rude to assume? She thought about it for a second while pouring lemonade into the glass. When she headed back to the bar, she noticed Adrien was giving her a concerned look.

"Hey, I know it might be a little weird to see me right now, so sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable. If you want, I'll leave..."

"Don't apologize! And you don't have to leave! I feel like I'm the one being weird... To be honest, it's just been a really long time since we've seen each other, and I have so many questions, but I don't wanna bother you with them." Marinette hoped that didn't make her sound too nosy, but she was telling the truth. She had so many questions. And concerns. And feelings to sort through.

"I see," Adrien chuckled. "Thanks for being so honest. I'm not really in the mood for questions though if that's alright."

"Oh of course! Sorry!"

"You're fine. It is nice to see you again Marinette. I kinda missed how energetic you are." He shot Marinette a genuine smile, and she felt herself blush.

"D-Do you know what you want yet, if anything?"

"Not really. Surprise me! Or, I'll take today's special, whatever that is." He was feeling spontaneous.

"Sounds good! I'll be right back." She headed back to the kitchen again, handing the order to the cooks. "I can't believe this is happening Tikki!" Marinette whispered. "This is so weird. But it's so good to see he's alright. At least as far as I can tell."

"I feel like you two could possibly be friends again!" Tikki giggled.

"Well, I- I don't know about that Tikki. I'm just happy to see him right now..."

"Get back out there Marinette! Good luck!"

* * *

Adrien had finished his dinner long ago. He and Marinette had been talking for what felt like hours. They were both a little glad that it had been slow and that only a few other people came in. Marinette had updated him with all the boring details of her life. She worked two jobs, one here, one at her parents' bakery, and was still friends with Alya. She told him she dropped out of university but didn't give much more details. Adrien told Marinette that he was modeling again, but only out of necessity. Without being too detailed, they both joked about the fact that neither of them was where they wanted to be at their point in life. Marinette didn't want to pry, and Adrien sensed that Marinette was hiding something, but decided not to ask, just to be fair to her. Adrien also noticed how much she had changed. Her face had slimmed, and she was a little taller. She seemed to be more serious and confident now too. Instead of the pigtails he remembered her always wearing, she had her hair in a high pony. He found it cute. Marinette noticed the changes as well. Besides being way taller, she noticed Adrien looked sadder than she remembered. Or maybe it wasn't sadness. Maybe he was just tired. She couldn't really tell. His hair was shorter than when she knew him in high school, or rather, he kept his sides short, but the top was longer, giving him that windswept look. She still thought she was super handsome, and that wasn't just her old crush kicking back in. It was super late now though, and she was beginning her closing duties. Adrien sensed he should probably leave, so he spoke up.

"I should probably head out now. I don't wanna distract you from closing," he said.

"You're not too distracting," Marinette uttered. "But it is late, and I can imagine you're tired after a long day. I had fun talking with you again Adrien."

"I did too. I had a lot of fun. Would you want to do something like this again?"

"What do you mean? Hang out with me while I work?" she laughed.

"Yeah! I mean- No! I mean- maybe... It doesn't have to be while you're working. It can be when you're free if you have the time." Adrien felt a little silly stumbling over his words like that. He was only talking with an old friend...

"I'd like that."

"Really!?"

"Yeah. We should go have a coffee sometime." Marinette surprised herself with how bold she was being. Fourteen-year-old her could never have asked Adrien to hang out with her. _That's one thing my younger self would probably be proud about_ , she thought.

"I know exactly where we should go. There's a cafe right by my apartment. I've been meaning to try it. Wanna go this week?" he was silent for a moment. "We should exchange numbers."

"Oh. Yeah! I guess yours probably isn't the same as when we were in high school. Mine's the same. Do you still have it?"

"No... Sorry."

"No worries! Here!" Marinette grabbed her notebook and pen from her apron pocket and scribbled her number. She swiftly ripped the page and handed it to him.

"Thanks. Let me just..." Adrien typed the number in his phone and sent her a text. "Did you get it?"

"Yeah!" She grinned at him and responded to his text with a smile emoji.

"Ok, great! I'm gonna head out then. I guess... I'll see you sometime this week? I'll text you."

"I look forward to it," Marinette said sweetly. "Goodnight Adrien."

"Goodnight Marinette." They waved at each other before Adrien left the restaurant. Marinette resumed her closing duties by wiping down all the tables. She could tell she was blushing, but she didn't try to hide it this time.

"I feel so silly... But I can't stop smiling. It was really nice to see him again." Tikki popped out of one of Marinette's pockets to give her a friendly smile.

"And it looks like you've got a date with him too!"

"A date?! I don't know if I'd call it that... We haven't even scheduled anything yet. Plus, I don't have time for stuff like that. I work too much and being Ladybug doesn't exactly make dating easy. Besides, he never saw me in that way back in high school." Thinking about it like that made her feel a little sad.

"Whatever you say Marinette," Tikki teased. "Hurry up and finish closing! It's getting late and you need your rest too!"

"I know, I know. I'll hurry up."

* * *

Notes:

I hoped you guys liked this! Sorry if my writing is inconsistent and all over the place. It really has been a while since I've tried any sort of creative writing. I'm in school and I work, so finding the time to work on this might be hard, but I'll try my best to keep updating. Please let me know what you think in the comments! I also might draw art for this if I find the time!


End file.
